Diabetic Nephropathy
|
Overview

What is diabetic nephropathy?

Diabetes can
affect many parts of the body, including the kidneys. In healthy kidneys, many
tiny blood vessels filter waste products from your body. The blood vessels have
holes that are big enough to allow tiny waste products to pass through into the
urine but are still small enough to keep useful products (such as protein and
red blood cells) in the blood. High levels of sugar in the blood can damage
these vessels if diabetes is not controlled. This can cause kidney disease,
which is also called nephropathy (say: nef-rah-puh-thee). If the damage is bad
enough, your kidneys could stop working.